Busiest Sturgis Motorcycle Rally In Decades As COVID Delta Variant Looms

Local law enforcement officials say the early days of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota were the busiest they have seen in decades, adding to fears the rally could cause a major virus outbreak amid the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

“There are more people here than I have been doing this for 31 years,” said Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin. Quick city newspaper On Saturday.

The motorcycle rally kicked off in Sturgis, a town in the Black Hills of South Dakota on Friday, and is expected to draw around 700,000 people for a 10-day event. But in just the first two days since the rally began, law enforcement officials in Sturgis and Meade County reported that their calls for service had increased significantly from previous years.

Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDewater said officers had already issued 207 offenses for alcohol containers opened since Friday, according to the Quick city newspaper. VanDewater said the city allows open containers of beer and wine, but no alcohol, during the rally in certain designated areas, but drinkers must purchase a special mug to do so.

In total, the sheriff’s office responded to 104 calls for service in just two days.

Merwin said the largest number of calls were for traffic stops and accidents, which are almost double from last year. Sheriff’s deputies responded to 41 traffic incidents on Sunday, up from just 22 in 2020.

“I don’t know what it is this year, but it looks like people are in a rush to get here and are causing all kinds of traffic problems,” Merwin told the outlet. “We ask the public to please obey our traffic laws and be safe there.”

The increase in activity this year comes as the rally could lead to a coronavirus outbreak as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to soar across the country. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, said on Sunday he was “very concerned” that the event could spark a new wave of infections.

Fauci said that while he understands why people want the freedom to attend big events, “there comes a time when you face a public health crisis that could involve you, your family and all. the world – that something replace that need to do exactly what you want to do. “

“We have to get this pandemic under control before we start acting like nothing has happened. Something serious is happening and we have to make it happen,” he added on Sunday.

Last year, the Sturgis rally turned into a “super-diffusion event” after more than 460 attendees were infected with the novel coronavirus, according to a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

There are no vaccine or mask requirements to attend the rally this year, but officials say the event offers access to coronavirus tests, face masks and disinfectant stations for them. hands, in addition to the doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The city is also allowing attendees to drink on public property this year, hoping to avoid overcrowding inside.

Just days before the event began, South Dakota reported a 68% increase in COVID cases, largely due to the Delta variant. In addition, only about 46 percent of adults who live in the host country are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.